All Along, I Knew
by jam821
Summary: Because a button-down looks good on Richard Castle, but it looks even better on Kate Beckett.


_I'm breaking from ficathon planning to bring you random season 6 fluff..._

_Because a button-down looks good on Richard Castle, but it looks even better on Kate Beckett._

* * *

He's completely submerged in the world of Nikki and Rook, their adventures spilling from his brain faster than his fingers can move. It's been this way for hours but he hasn't noticed the time, hasn't seen how the minute hand circled around his wall clock, pushing the hour hand past the two and then the three. It's now about to slide over the four and the steady stream of words is finally beginning to ease.

His favorite fictional duo has reached a point where their story slows. It's not the end, nowhere near it, but rather a small reprieve, a moment for them to step away from death and destruction so they can focus on each other. They are heading home for the night, content to shelve their case in favor of dinner and a little quiet, alone time.

He startles at the feeling of slender fingers wrapping around his head, two soft palms coming to rest over his eyes. The cold tip of a nose nuzzles his neck, causing a shiver to race down his spine as she whispers in his ear.

"Guess who."

She giggles. It's quiet and so unexpected that he's at a complete loss for words. Kate Beckett doesn't giggle. She laughs hysterically, full-bellied and loud when he's being over the top ridiculous, she laughs silently, her lips pressed tight to feign disinterest, or she'll laugh teasingly, a single "Ha!" while she shakes her head and rolls her eyes at him, but she never giggles.

The sound seems to surprise her as well, because she wastes no time in pressing her smile to his skin, smothering the noise before too much can escape. But he wants to hear it again, hear the gleeful mirth she keeps closely guarded, so he rubs his chin while pretending to think seriously about who it could be.

"Hmmm. Alexis?"

Her smile widens against his neck, lips parting just a little as she shakes her head.

"Nope."

"Mother?"

"No."

Tapping a rhythm against his desktop with the fingers of his right hand, he moves his left to trace down her forearm, cupping one of her hands with his own. "Esposito?"

"No!" She nips at him for that and he can't help but release his own chuckle, so proud that she shares this side of herself with him now.

"Hmmm…" He continues tapping against his desk, prolonging the moment before he exclaims, "I've got it! Ryan!"

"Castle!" The admonishment is completely hampered by the happiness he can hear in her voice.

"Oh, man! I was so sure I was right. Who could it be?"

"Rick." Her voice is deeper now, husky, and he can't help but perk up when he feels the heat of her tongue against his skin, licking a path of fire until she reaches his ear. She drags her teeth along the sensitive cartilage, pulling it into her mouth before biting down, the sharp sensation making his heart skip a beat. "Who would do that, Castle?"

"Mmm, only one person would do that."

"Who is she?"

"The woman of my dreams." He says it mostly in jest but once the words are out he realizes just how true they are. In one way or another, abstractly for so long and then clearly once they'd met, he's been dreaming about her, wishing and hoping for the day that she would be his.

"Tell me about this woman."

"She's everything. Dangerously smart, I've never met anyone that challenges me intellectually like she does." He smiles at the almost imperceptible sigh she releases, her body relaxing as she listens to his words.

"What else?" she asks when his pause lasts too long.

"Devastatingly beautiful. Just absolutely drop-dead gorgeous. Wild, curly hair that I can't help but run my fingers through." Reaching back with one hand to do just that, he lightly scratches her skin, cupping the back of her skull. Her fingers drop from over his eyes, her arms draping around his neck, and, resting her head on his shoulder, she exhales softly.

They are cheek to cheek when he continues. "She has these incredible eyes that I can get lost in. A mix of brown and green depending on her mood…so mysterious just like she is."

Tangling his fingers in her hair, he tugs just enough to get her moving, and, grabbing her hand to bring her around, he pulls her down into his lap. He gets distracted when he sees his own shirt, the one she ripped off him last night, hanging from her shoulders, hiding her body from him.

She's quiet as he runs his palm up her bare thigh, tripping along the few buttons she's done up, but a gasp finally escapes when his fingers travel between her breasts. He continues, settling against the side of her neck, smudging his thumb along her bottom lip as he locks eyes with her.

"But the best part about her – the part I love the most – is the way she makes me feel when she looks at me. Like I matter, like what I think is important–"

Rough and possessive, she cuts him off with the hot press of her lips against his own, and he forgets how to breathe.

Tracing his fingers down the length of her chin, he can feel the movement of her jaw as she kisses him, and, drawing her bottom lip into his mouth, he nibbles on the tender flesh until she releases a deep moan, a warning that he's going to heed.

At least for now.

"And the way she kisses me – like I have something she so desperately wants – it's perfect. The way she feels in my arms, the way she smells, the way she tastes."

"Sounds like you've got quite a catch, Castle." The teasing smile she gives him is a front – he knows this about her – a way to hide the shyness that lurks underneath, the belief that she couldn't possibly be all of those things.

He can't have that so he answers her with a happy grin of his own. Nuzzling in against her nose, he dusts kisses along her cheekbones and under her eyes. He waits for the tension to flow out of her body, for her to completely relax against him before he whispers in her ear.

"The woman of my dreams. Her name is Kate."

She shudders at the sound of her own name, pressing in tighter to him, and he reacts as her action flares deep within him. Circling one arm around her back, he holds her in place, squeezing her thigh with his free hand.

Giving her a moment to let that sink in, he revels at the feel of her, so soft and pliable in the early morning hours, and then he smacks a kiss to her cheek, loud and obnoxious to draw out the sweet sound of her laughter. He sneaks his hand up her leg until he can grab a fistful of her perfectly shaped backside, and, happy to find that she's foregone putting on any underwear, he kneads the muscle while peppering kisses all over her cheeks and forehead, reducing her to a squirming, shrieking mess as she tries to push him away.

She's breathless when he finally stops, arching her back in an effort to avoid him, and he takes advantage of the unobstructed stretch of skin that leads down her neck until it disappears beneath his shirt.

Placing a trail of open mouth kisses along the path, he leaves her another kind of breathless, and she hisses when he reaches the first button she's done up, slipping the small disc through its respective hole to expose the pale valley between her breasts. He lays his palm right over her heart, the steady beat echoing through his skin. "You're wearing my shirt, Kate. You know what it does to me when you wear my clothes."

"It was all I could find in the dark." She lifts her head, gazing at him as her hand comes up to cradle his cheek, her fingers brushing just under his eye. "The bed was cold."

Listing into her touch, he can't resist the urge to turn and place a kiss on the inside of her wrist, taking delight in the sudden jump in her pulse rate. "And you missed me?" He lets her see his grin at this realization, shares his overwhelming joy at knowing why she came looking for him.

"I did." Her answering smile and eye roll is exactly what he expected to see and the thrill at knowing her so well makes him giddy. "Your eyes are so red, babe. How long have you been up?"

Peering at the clock, he winces when he sees that it's been longer than he meant. "Uhh, couple hours. But…" Dragging the word out, he looks back at her, his hand lifting from its resting place over her chest. His fingers toy with the last button of his shirt before slipping it free.

The two halves part to reveal her bare body, chest heaving as she takes a deep breath. She shivers, goosebumps breaking out across her skin, when he lightly runs the flats of his nails underneath one breast and down the ladder of her ribcage, slowing when he reaches the sharp edge of her hipbone. "I'm at a stopping point if you want to go back to bed."

"Mmmhmm. Okay." She breathes the words out, her head falling back, eyes closing on a gentle sigh as she gives into him.

The warmth of her skin is a siren call that he could never resist. He tightens the arm he has wrapped around her back, tucks the other underneath her knees, and, standing from his chair, he carries her bridal-style back to bed. She startles at the sudden movement, gripping his neck and yelling at him to put her down, but he won't. Not yet.

He keeps his steps slow, extending the time it takes to get back to the bedroom, savoring the feeling of having her in his arms, and she quiets down, scowling but accepting his need to carry her. It's good practice for their wedding after all, and that thought sends bursts of excited energy coursing through his veins so fast that he falters, stops mid-stride.

"Kate." She is absolutely adorable as her brow furrows in confusion, and he can't help but lean forward, kissing the lines away.

"Kate. We're getting married."

A slow, gorgeous grin lifts the corners of her lips, a hint of pink tongue poking out from behind her teeth, and she does an excited little wiggle in his arms, her eyes sparkling as she whispers back, "I know!"

And then he drops her on the mattress, climbing in right after her. Swallowing her annoyed growl with the press of his mouth, he wraps her up and loves her until the sun breaks through their blissful bubble, greeting them with the promise of a new day.

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_Thank you to my lovely Kylie for the super fast beta and all-around awesomeness. xoxo_


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